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Chinese? Can I, Cant I

jambo massive

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jambo massive Apprentice
jambo massive
Posted

I'm a big lover of chinese food and eat it on average 5 times a month but im on hold now, i have'nt found much out about it does anybody know if this is safe to eat i know they use corn flour but the rest im unsure?? all the diffrent sauces are making me worry and trying to ask in a chinese is hard as they tend not to understand.

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mftnchn Explorer
mftnchn
Posted
I'm a big lover of chinese food and eat it on average 5 times a month but im on hold now, i have'nt found much out about it does anybody know if this is safe to eat i know they use corn flour but the rest im unsure?? all the diffrent sauces are making me worry and trying to ask in a chinese is hard as they tend not to understand.

I live in China, and I know that food in the USA at least is far different from what I get here.

Here's my two cents: soy sauce is a big problem. Be sure to check that they are using wheat free. Here, MSG is known to be from wheat, also is commonly used in Chinese food. Soy sauce is in almost everything. Flour may be used to dredge meats before frying. Sometimes flour is combined with cornstarch.

Vinegar is also used a lot and may be grain-based.

I haven't yet found sauces here that are wheat free. Hoisen sauce, oyster sauce, etc both have it. Sweet and sour sauce may be okay, it is usually made with cornstarch, but also often has soy sauce in it. The "pink" kind which is more a southern version may not have soy sauce but you will have to ask.

Also deep fried food would be a problem due to cross contamination.

If you have a favorite restaurant maybe they will work with you on this, such as use soy sauce that you bring them. However, cross contamination may be an issue.

Good luck!

jambo massive Apprentice
jambo massive
Posted
  • Author

Wow thats a massive help thank you, i think i'm going to start to be my chinese chefs best friend get him to make me something i can eat.

blueeyedmanda Community Regular
blueeyedmanda
Posted

If you have a PF Changs around your area, they have a gluten free menu and their food is very good!!!

jambo massive Apprentice
jambo massive
Posted
  • Author

Is that a uk branch??

blueeyedmanda Community Regular
blueeyedmanda
Posted

I apologize, I did not realize you were in the UK.

gfgypsyqueen Enthusiast
gfgypsyqueen
Posted

I loved Chinese food too before diagnosis. I ate it a couple times a week if I could. Now it is not so much fun.

PF CHangs is a great chain restaurant in the US that has a gluten-free menu and gluten-free soy sauce. Maybe they have a branch in England?? Maybe a similar upscale chinese franchise?

I still go to my local chinese restaurant, but I bring my own sauces and order steamed chicken and veggies with white rice (not their sauce). Sometimes I bring sweet and sour sauce, sometimes plain soy sauce, sometime bbq in a pinch. I have never gotten sick off the steamed meal. I am ashamed to say I have never even tried to explain Celiacs and gluten-free. I know there are translation cards and translation sites, maybe you could get a few versions written up and see what works?? Manderian, Thia, Sechwaun (sp?), and japanese. I really loved the japanese steak houses and little japanese restaurants.

best of luck

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steveindenver Contributor
steveindenver
Posted

Another option is to get to know your local Chinese place. There's one place (for now) I trust. I take my bottle of wheat free Tamari and my Triumph Dining card and the one woman pretty much knows me now after going for six months or so. I've gotten sick once and I always remind them to clean the pan out before they cook for me. I usually stick with the same item (Szechuan Beef) and have ventured into the white sauce zone once (just never been a fan of white sauce, not enough flavor for me).

jambo massive Apprentice
jambo massive
Posted
  • Author

it is going to be a hard thing to get use to i tend to eat everything in sight. I think i will call up before i go out and see what the diffrent chinese's can do for me.

GeoffCJ Enthusiast
GeoffCJ
Posted
it is going to be a hard thing to get use to i tend to eat everything in sight. I think i will call up before i go out and see what the diffrent chinese's can do for me.

If there is a Vietnamese place available (I don't know where you are in the UK) many Vietnamese places are more Celiac freindly. The sauce used primarily there is Fish Sauce, which is normally Gluten-free. Chinese food is tough.

I used to eat out 4-5 days a week, between lunch and dinner. I will admit that with this diet, I've cut that back to only a few times a month. A little more work, but I'm eating better and have lost a few pounds.

Geoff

mftnchn Explorer
mftnchn
Posted
If there is a Vietnamese place available (I don't know where you are in the UK) many Vietnamese places are more Celiac freindly. The sauce used primarily there is Fish Sauce, which is normally Gluten-free. Chinese food is tough.

I used to eat out 4-5 days a week, between lunch and dinner. I will admit that with this diet, I've cut that back to only a few times a month. A little more work, but I'm eating better and have lost a few pounds.

Geoff

Ditto for Thai, as best as I can determine.

Char Apprentice
Char
Posted

I'm Chinese and speak Chinese, so I actually never have a problem at restaurants. If you can take a friend who can speak the language, I would highly suggest it -- most authentic Chinese places (meaning not the westernized-all-they-do-is-takeout) will cook anything with any of the ingredients they have on hand, as long as you can specify exactly what you can't have.

Although cross-contamination is sometimes an issue (though maybe if I actually asked them to clean it out, it'd be ok), I'm usually good with rice noodles (either chow fun or mei fun) without soy sauce, soups, and anything with white sauce. Just make sure that there isn't any black-colored sauces (the general rule of thumb, though if you say that you're allergic to soy sauce, I've found that most places are pretty good about not giving you something with a black-colored sauce) or MSG (some has gluten in it).

Oh, and at some places, you can even have Peking duck, since it's usually made with vinegar (I'm ok with vinegar because of the studies that suggest the distillation process gets rid of gluten); you can just bring your own hoisin sauce (there are several US brands that are gluten-free, but I don't know about in the UK) and make lettuce wraps.

Good luck!

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